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An audiophile, from Latin audire^[1] "to hear" and Greek philos^[2] "loving," can be generally defined as a person dedicated to achieving high fidelity in the recording and playback of music . Image File history File links Circle-question. ... Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in Latium, the region immediately surrounding Rome. ... High Fidelity is also the title of a book by Nick Hornby and a film directed by Stephen Frears, based upon Hornbys book. ... For other uses, see Music (disambiguation). ...

Audiophile beliefs

The neutrality and factual accuracy of this article or section are disputed. Please see the relevant discussion on the talk page.

One statement that has influenced some subjectivists' values is from Harry Pearson, longtime editor of The Absolute Sound:^[3] Image File history File links Circle-question-red. ... Image File history File links Unbalanced_scales. ... Harry Eyre Pearson was a first class cricketer who played 4 matches for Yorkshire County Cricket Club between 1878 and 1880. ... The Absolute Sound is an American monthly magazine which reviews audiophile-oriented sound-reproduction and recording equipment and recordings, and comments on various music-related subjects. ...

"We believe that the sound of music, unamplified, occurring in a real space is a philosophic absolute against which we may judge the performance of devices designed to reproduce music."

What is discernable?

There is much skepticism inside and outside the audiophile community as to which practices and products have discernible or measurable effects on the listening experience. The two opposing factions are objectivists that are skeptical of the benefits achieved with exotic or fanciful equipment setups and dyed-in-the-wool subjectivists that believe everything sounds different—even the same power amplifier or preamplifier when compared to itself.^[4]

Audiophile values may be applied at all stages of music reproduction—the initial audio recording, the production process, and the playback, which is usually in a home setting. High-end audio refers to expensive, high-quality, or exotic products and practices used in the reproduction of music. Methods and media for sound recording are varied and have undergone significant changes between the first time sound was actually recorded for later playback until now. ... High-end audio is a term used to describe equipment that is purported by the manufacturers to be the best, regardless of the price. ...

Marketing of audiophile equipment

People on both sides of the debate concede that because many audiophiles are laymen and lack technical knowledge, they are vulnerable to exploitation by fanciful, nebulous, and outrageous claims made by unethical equipment vendors. Audiophool is a derogatory term sometimes used by objectivists to refer to what they see as gullible audio consumers willing to spend a great deal of extra money in imperceptible or unnecessary system-performance gains. There is a tremendous variety and price range of audio equipment available. In religious organizations , the laity comprises all lay persons, i. ... Ethics is a general term for what is often described as the science (study) of morality. In philosophy, ethical behavior is that which is good or right. ...

Actual scientifically measurable audio-equipment performance figures are often omitted or obscured from advertisements and user-review literature in favor of vague notions of style, power, fidelity, durability, etc. that would not be discernible or evident to most listeners.

Minimalism

Even given agreement on the goal, opinions vary widely among designers and listeners on how best to achieve it. One design principle is minimalism. Given that capturing, storing, and playing back music may degrade it, some audiophiles believe that the fewer and simpler the stages the better. Some audiophile components, for example, lack tone control circuits, since it is felt that these may degrade the audio quality while moving the sound away from the ideal. The minimalist subjectivist assertion is that music contains elements which cannot be measured by electronic instruments,^[5] so the less one alters the original signal, the more likely it is that this unmeasurable quality is preserved. Thus subjectivists believe that objective measurements are irrelevant or misleading. Minimalism describes movements in various forms of art and design, especially visual art and music, where the work is stripped down to its most fundamental features and core self expression. ... Tone control circuits are electronic circuits used to modify an audio signal before it is fed to speakers, headphones or recording devices by way of an amplifier. ...

Objectivists, however, want to reasonably quantify and specify the effects of input source, amplifier setup, system power, speaker configuration, etc. on the listening experience, and this is thus complementary to purely subjective preferences in quantifying the perceptible effects of different equipment setups.

Restoration

While minimalists strive to keep the signal unmodified from studio rendition to final listener output, a non-minimalist does the opposite by attempting to restore the original environment, or in some cases better the original rendition. DSP algorithms such as realtime mono-to-stereo conversions, Sound Retrieval System (SRS), Environmental audio extensions (EAX) manipulate the signals to enhance listener experience. EAX, for example, can simulate a room environment or simulate a stadium environment by using mathematical acoustical algorithms to add echo or reverb to the signal, taking a rendition of a song and placing in the simulated environment. For example, Jimi Hendrix's Star Spangled Banner might be sent through a DSP algorithm mimicking the outdoor echo effects of Woodstock that would be lost because recording is captured directly from the instrument or a room made to dampen any acoustical effects. Non-minimalists may also choose to manipulate the sound with an equalizer, to enhance certain frequency ranges that may have been lost during recording or that are not reproduced during playback. Minimalists, one the other hand, might argue that these devices alter the natural quality of the sound. The Sound Retrieval System (or SRS) is a patented psychoacoustic 3D audio processing technology originally invented by Arnold Klayman in the early 1980s. ... The environmental audio extensions (or EAX) are a number of digital signal processing presets for audio, present in Creative Labs later Sound Blaster sound cards and the Creative NOMAD/Creative Zen product lines. ... Acoustics is a branch of physics and is the study of sound, mechanical waves in gases, liquids, and solids. ... ECHO is a German music award granted every year by the Deutsche Phono-Akademie (an association of recording companies). ... When sound is produced in an enclosed space multiple reflections build up and blend together creating reverberation or reverb. ...

Listening room effects

Subjectivists and objectivists agree that the room in which the playback system works is of great importance to the sound quality. There is a wide variety of room-treatment products available to address this issue, and extreme audiophiles are known to use purpose-built listening rooms.

Consumer practices

Sound sources

Modern turntable.

Audiophiles regularly listen to music from compact discs (CDs), records, and frequency-modulation (FM) radio. Since the early 1990s, CDs have become the most common source of high-quality music, destroying the mass market for records. Due to hobbyist record collectors, the extensive back-catalogue of music on records not available on CDs, and the perceived better sound quality of records among many subjectivists, records remain popular among a minority of listeners. The debate is particularly sharp in this area, with analog proponents claiming a warmer analog sound and loss of information in the sampling process in digital sound, while digital proponents decry analog formats as lacking dynamic range and having greater deviations in frequency response and distortion. Nevertheless, turntables, tonearms, and cartridges are among the most exotic and lavish high-end audio products available today, despite the difficulties of keeping records free from dust and the rather physically delicate setup associated with a turntable. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (3072x2304, 625 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Audiophile Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used to create... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (3072x2304, 625 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Audiophile Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used to create... CD may stand for: Compact Disc Canadian Forces Decoration Cash Dispenser (at least used in Japan) CD LPMud Driver Centrum-Demokraterne (Centre Democrats of Denmark) Certificate of Deposit České Dráhy (Czech Railways) Chad (NATO country code) Chalmers Datorförening (computer club of the Chalmers University of Technology) a 1960s... A gramophone record, (also phonograph record - often simply record) is an analog sound recording medium: a flat disc rotating at a constant angular velocity, with inscribed spiral grooves in which a stylus or needle rides. ... FM radio is a broadcast technology invented by Edwin Howard Armstrong that uses frequency modulation to provide high-fidelity sound over broadcast radio. ... Edison cylinder phonograph ca. ... A magnetic cartridge is a device used for the playback of gramophone records on a turntable or phonograph. ...

Top-loading CD player and external digital-to-analog converter.

The 44.1 kHz sampling rate of the CD format, in theory, restricts CDs' information losses to above the theoretical upper-frequency limit of human hearing of approximately 20 kHz (see Nyquist limit). It should be noted that typical audiophiles are in their thirties or older[1] and highly unlikely to be able to hear beyond 18 kHz. Some critics^[specify] argue that there are still deleterious effects on the sound quality at this sampling rate. Newer formats such as DVD-Audio and Super Audio Compact Disc (SACD) with sampling rates of 96 kHz or higher have been developed in an attempt to address this criticism. This issue of sample rate again illustrates the difficulty of accurately and consistently measuring and predicting listener response and preference of audio playback technology. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (3000x2300, 461 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Audiophile ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (3000x2300, 461 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Audiophile ... The sampling frequency or sampling rate defines the number of samples per second taken from a continuous signal to make a discrete signal. ... Hearing, or audition, is one of the traditional five senses, and refers to the ability to detect sound. ... The Nyquist frequency, named after Harry Nyquist or the Nyquist–Shannon sampling theorem, is half the sampling frequency of a discrete signal processing system. ... The DVD-Audio logo. ... Super Audio CD (SACD) is a read-only optical audio disc format aimed at providing much higher fidelity digital audio reproduction than the compact disc. ...

Despite the popularity of MP3 digital audio players such as iPods, some audiophiles^[specify] criticize these devices because of their reliance on lossy data compression. In MP3 encoding, for example, musical information is lost in proportion to the degree of compression. Audiophiles who use a digital audio player will often encode their music at higher bit rates to maintain sound quality at acceptable levels for casual listening. Many digital audio players, however, can also accept uncompressed formats such as WAV (PCM)—foregoing compression to retain quality. Some players (including iPods) also allow lossless compression algorithms which can compress audio files without degrading their sound quality. Popular lossless formats include FLAC, WavPack, Monkey's Audio (APE), Apple Lossless, True Audio, Windows Media Audio 9 Lossless, and Shorten. MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a popular digital audio encoding format. ... Apple iPod, the most popular hard drive-based digital audio player An embedded hard drive-based player (Creative Zen Vision:M), one of the many alternatives for the iPod An MP3 CD player (Philips Expanium) Some mobile phones can be used as digital audio players, such as the Nokia 6233. ... iPod (fifth generation) in Apple Universal Dock, iPod nano (second generation) and iPod shuffle (second generation) iPod is a brand of portable media players designed and marketed by Apple and launched in 2001. ... A lossy data compression method is one where compressing data and then decompressing it retrieves data that may well be different from the original, but is close enough to be useful in some way. ... MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a popular digital audio encoding format. ... WAV (or WAVE), short for Waveform audio format, is a Microsoft and IBM audio file format standard for storing audio on PCs. ... Pulse-code modulation (PCM) is a digital representation of an analog signal where the magnitude of the signal is sampled regularly at uniform intervals, then quantized to a series of symbols in a digital (usually binary) code. ... Lossless data compression is a class of data compression algorithms that allows the exact original data to be reconstructed from the compressed data. ... FLAC, an acronym for Free Lossless Audio Codec, is a popular file format for audio data compression. ... WavPack is a free, open source lossless audio compression format developed by David Bryant. ... Monkey’s Audio is a lossless audio compression codec. ... Apple Lossless (also known as Apple Lossless Encoder, ALE, or Apple Lossless Audio Codec, ALAC) is an audio codec developed by Apple Inc. ... Windows Media Audio 9 Lossless is a lossless data lossless audio codec by Microsoft, released in early 2003. ... SHN (Shorten) is a file format used to losslessly compress CD-quality audio files (44. ...

While many digital-audio devices have integrated converters, a healthy demand exists for after-market digital-to-analog converters. In electronics, a digital-to-analog converter (DAC or D-to-A) is a device for converting a digital (usually binary) code to an analog signal (current, voltage or electric charge). ...

Amplifiers

Early vacuum-tube (thermionic valve) amplifier.

Many audiophile systems separate the functions of the preamplifier from that of the power amplifier. A preamplifier selects among several audio inputs, amplifies source-level signals (such as those from a turntable), and allows the listener to adjust the sound with volume and tone controls, switchable filters, etc. A power amplifier takes the "line-level" audio signal from the preamplifier and drives the loudspeakers; typically the only control on a power amplifier is a gain (level) control (or none at all). Some audiophiles use two monophonic power amplifiers in a 'monoblock' configuration rather than one stereophonic power amplifier. Some use no preamplifier, instead connecting a CD player with a variable output directly to a power amplifier. Some go even further and use multiple amplifiers per loudspeaker to drive the woofer, midrange, tweeter, etc. The terms bi-amped and tri-amped are sometimes used to describe these systems. There are, however, those who advocate using integrated amplifiers that combine a preamplifier and power amplifier in one box, arguing the benefits of minimalism. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2556x1884, 480 KB) Summary Quad II power amplifier. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2556x1884, 480 KB) Summary Quad II power amplifier. ... An example of a typical high-end stereo preamplifier. ... This article or section needs copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone and/or spelling. ... A Sony 9 inch woofer Woofer is the term for a loudspeaker driver that is designed to produce low frequency sounds, typically from around 40 hertz up to a few hundred hertz. ... A midrange speaker A loudspeaker driver that produces the frequency range from approximately 300-5000 Hertz is known as a mid-range. ... A shielded Peerless v-line dome tweeter A tweeter is a driver designed to produce high frequencies, typically from around 2,000 hertz to 20,000 hertz (20,000 Hz is generally considered to be the upper limit of the human ear). ...

Audiophile amplifiers are available based on solid-state (semiconductor) technology, vacuum-tube (valve) technology, or hybrid technology—semiconductors and vacuum tubes. Very low power single-ended triode tube amplifiers are often claimed to provide superb sound when paired with appropriately sensitive loudspeakers. On the other hand, there are others who use solid-state amplifiers rated at over 1,000 watts RMS per channel. Some subjectivists^[specify] believe that tube amplifiers, despite their much higher distortion, produce a more faithful and detailed reproduction in comparison to solid-state amplifiers. Objectivists respond that this is largely a matter of opinion and personal taste, not proper reproduction of sound. Tube amplifiers, however, are heavily used in music production, primarily in guitar amplifiers because of their soft clipping when overdriven, compared to solid-state circuitry. A semiconductor is a solid whose electrical conductivity is in between that of a metal and that of an insulator, and can be controlled over a wide range, either permanently or dynamically. ... In electronics, a vacuum tube or (outside North America) thermionic valve or just valve, is a device generally used to amplify, switch or otherwise modify, a signal by controlling the movement of electrons in an evacuated space. ... In a single-ended triode (SET) electronic amplifier the entire audio signal waveform is amplified by the triode. ... A serious and reliable measure of the power output of a loudspeaker or audio amplifier is average power, commonly called watts RMS. RMS stands for root mean square and is actually a misnomer here but has nonetheless become the common term. ... Valve sound is the sound either from a valve amplifier or a specially designed transistor amplifier. ... Clipping is one form of distortion that occurs when an amplifier is overdriven, which happens when it attempts to increase voltage or current beyond its limits. ...

Loudspeakers

Audiophile loudspeakers use a wide variety of technologies and range greatly in size and cost. The availability of high-priced, exotic designs is most extreme in the loudspeaker category. It is possible to spend more than $100,000 USD on a pair of high-end loudspeakers. Starting at prices well under $500, budget audiophile loudspeakers are also widely available, and are often the beneficiaries of more advanced technologies developed for higher priced flagship designs. This article or section needs copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone and/or spelling. ... The United States dollar is the official currency of the United States. ...

In contrast to consumer oriented audiophile speakers, monitor speakers used by professional audio engineers are usually relatively modest in size and price.

The cabinet the loudspeaker is made from is referred to as the enclosure. There is a wide variety of loudspeaker enclosure designs, including sealed, ported, transmission line, infinite baffle, horn loaded, and aperiodic. This article or section needs copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone and/or spelling. ...

The drivers are the actual sound-producing elements, commonly referred to as tweeters, midranges, woofers, and subwoofers. Driver designs include dynamic, electrostatic, magneplanar, ribbon, planar, ionic, and servo-actuated.

The direction and intensity of the output of a loudspeaker, called dispersion or polar response, has a large effect on its sound. Various methods are employed to control the dispersion. These methods include monopolar, bipolar, dipolar, 360 degree, horn, waveguide, and line source. These terms refer to the configuration and arrangement of the various drivers in the enclosure.

Accessories

Audiophiles use a wide variety of accessories and fine-tuning techniques, known as "tweaks", to improve the sound of their systems. These tweaks include: filters to clean the electricity, equipment racks to isolate components from room vibrations, power cables, interconnect cables (e.g. between preamplifier and power amplifier), high quality speaker cables and stands (and footers to isolate the speakers from the stands), as well as room treatments, to name but a few. Among the most controversial of these tweaks are expensive, high-end shielded audio cables used for electrical power, line-level, loudspeaker, and digital-signal connections.

Room treatments typically consist of sound-absorbing materials placed strategically within a listening room to reduce the amplitude of early reflections. Room treatments can be expensive and difficult to optimize, but are considered by many to be the least "tweaky" of the many available tweaks, because their effectiveness is easily measured and grounded in verifiable science. Many tweaks do work and much of the fun of the hobby is to "squeeze" even more performance out of an otherwise excellent sounding component.

Headphones

Another, less expensive, practice of some audiophiles is the use of premium headphones. While sometimes outlandish in price (as high as $15,000), most headphones marketed to audiophiles are a tiny fraction of the cost of comparable speaker systems, and do not require any room adjustment for music enjoyment. Well-known high-end headphones are considered to offer audiophile quality for prices well under a thousand dollars. Some feel that the performance of high-end headphones is improved by the use of dedicated headphone amplifiers and cables. Newer canalphones, while as expensive as their larger counterparts and considered more limited in soundstage and other characteristics, can be driven by less powerful outputs like portable devices, and are increasingly used by audiophiles. // Fig. ... // Fig. ...

Professional practices

Techniques applied by audiophile recording engineers include the use of exotic high-end microphones, the use of fewer rather than more microphones, specific microphone placement, the use of tube-driven rather than solid-state electronics, and the use of a minimal amount of processing in the production chain.

Audiophiles also criticize the heavy dynamic-range compression found in many pop music recordings. There are some professional musicians and audio engineers who agree; currently active recording artists who use minimalist audiophile recording techniques include Neil Young and the Cowboy Junkies among many others.^{[citation needed]} Neil Percival Young[1] OM (born November 12, 1945, Toronto, Ontario) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and film director from Toronto, Ontario and Winnipeg, Manitoba. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...

Current trends

Audiophile's home theatre

In terms of revenue, the mainstream electronics business is now dominated by multi-channel home theater rather than two-channel stereo sound. Almost every major vendor has introduced a full line of home-theater products, even those who traditionally eschewed such products. The degree to which this phenomenon has happened varies from country to country. It is probably most advanced in the United States, and less so in the United Kingdom and other countries.^{[citation needed]} Audiophiles and non-audiophiles alike still buy high quality two channel systems as well as incorporating large floorstanding loudspeakers into their surround-sound system. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2500x1664, 663 KB) Summary Home theater with ceiling-mounted video projector. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2500x1664, 663 KB) Summary Home theater with ceiling-mounted video projector. ... Home cinema, also called Home theater, seeks to reproduce cinema quality video and audio in the home. ...

Audiophiles are interested in newer higher-bandwidth digital-recording formats such as SACD and DVD-Audio. These formats encode music at data rates of 24-bit / 96 kHz or even 192 kHz compared to 16-bit / 44.1 kHz for CDs, and thus are referred to as high-resolution audio formats. Because manufacturers have failed to agree on a single format, because there are relatively few releases in these formats, and possibly also because audiences consider CDs to be good enough as is, acceptance so far has been limited. The improvements offered by these higher-resolution formats requires the use of specialized hi-fi equipment with a correspondongly higher cost, which has so far failed to achieve wide market acceptance. The continued refinement of the standard CD audio technology, at both the recording/production and playback stages have created ever higher-quality DACs, analog stages, and upsampling features that have elevated the standard CD to very high levels. Super Audio CD (SACD) is a read-only optical audio disc format aimed at providing much higher fidelity digital audio reproduction than the compact disc. ... The DVD-Audio logo. ... Upsampling is the process of increasing the sampling rate of a signal. ...

Objective versus subjective

Objectivists believe that audio components, accessories, and treatments must pass rigorously-conducted double-blind tests and meet specified performance requirements to meet the claims made by their adherents. Subjectivists, however, believe that careful individual listening is an appropriate tool for discovering the true worth of a device or treatment, and will generally acquire equipment that suits their own listening or style preferences as opposed to measurable equipment performance.

Objectivists' criticisms of subjectivism

• Every properly conducted and interpreted double-blind test has failed to support subjectivists' claims of significant or extremely subtle sonic differences between devices if measurements alone predict that there should be no sonic differences between the devices when listening to music^[6][7].
• Listening tests are subjected to many variables, and results are notoriously unreliable. Thomas Edison, for example, showed that large audiences responded favorably when presented both live performances by artists and reproductions by his recording system,^[8] which today would be regarded as primitive in quality.
• Similarly, results of component evaluation between various listeners or even the same listener under different circumstances cannot be easily replicated or standardized.
• Measured-audio distortion is immensely higher in electromechanical components such as microphones, turntables, tonearms, phono cartridges, and loudspeakers than in purely electronic components such as preamplifiers and power amplifiers, making it logically more difficult for objectivists to accept that very subtle differences in the latter can have an appreciable effect on overall musical reproduction quality.
• Similarly, the acoustic behavior of the listening room—the interaction between loudspeakers and the room's acoustics—and the interaction between an electromechanical device (loudspeaker) and an electronic device (amplifier) are subjected to many more variables than between electronic components. Thus the "difference" in sound quality between amplifiers is actually the ability of an amplifier to interface well with loudspeakers or a lucky combination of loudspeaker, amplifier, and room that works well together^[9].
• It is difficult, but very important, to match sound levels before comparing systems, as minute increases in loudness—more than 0.1dB—have been demonstrated to cause perceived improvements in sound quality.^{[citation needed]}
• Subjectivists often reject attempts to categorize differences in sound using measurements, despite strong evidence of its effectiveness. The audio engineer Bob Carver, for example, has shown that by tailoring the transfer function of a particular amplifier, he was able to make it sound indistinguishable from another^[10]<!- this linked article fails WP:RS [2] -->.
• Solid-state amplifiers are often not used for guitars due to the harsh sound created by an overdriven solid-state amplifier compared to valve. In the high fidelity debate, subjectivists often prefer vacuum-tube electronics over solid-state electronics, because despite inferior measured performance, the subjectivists claim a warmer or more musical sound. Vacuum-tube amplifiers are often attacked as inferior because, in addition to their substantially higher total harmonic distortion, they require rebiasing, are less reliable, generate more heat, are less powerful, and are often more expensive.^[11]
• Subjectivists regularly make strong claims for the allegedly superior quality of analog music reproduction from records played on turntables compared to digital music reproduction from CDs played on CD players despite digital music's absence of clicks, pops, wow, flutter, audio feedback, or rumble. Digital also has a higher signal-to-noise ratio, has a wider dynamic range, has less total harmonic distortion, and has a flatter and more extended frequency response.^[12][13]
• Some audiophile-equipment designers and consumers are obsessed over seemingly irrelevant details. Many components, for instance, are able to reproduce frequencies higher than the limit of human hearing—20 kHz.^[14] Some sources, such as FM radio, will not reproduce frequencies higher than 15 or 16 kHz.
• Some subjectivists' practices seem driven by fashion—e.g., the late eighties' vogue for marking the edges of CDs with a green felt marker^[15] or suspending cables above the floor on small racks—and bear no relation to well-known laws of physics.
• Some audiophile products’ prices strain credulity. It is possible to spend over a hundred thousand dollars for loudspeakers, tens of thousands of dollars for amplifiers and CD players, and more than a thousand dollars for a power cable ^[16][17]
• Some vendors of products destined for the most obsessed audiophile make fanciful and unscientific claims for their products. Tice Audio, for example, once sold what appeared to be an ordinary clock radio which, it was claimed, would change "electron energy levels," thereby improving the quality of a playback system if plugged into the same electrical circuit.^[18] Peter Belt (PWB Electronics) [3] once marketed pebbles which were claimed to improve sonic performance when placed anywhere in rooms where audio components are present.
• Many vendors of audio cables make outrageous-sounding claims for alleged improvements in sound quality. Nordost ^[19], for example, makes claims as to the transmission speeds of their cables and the purity of the copper used to justify prices of several thousands of dollars per metre for their "reference products." Some audio cables are filled with oil or water, glow in the dark, or come with a separate AC cord which must be plugged in to power the cable. Some have such lavish appearances that to the connoisseur of cables, they can be considered audio jewelry.^[20]
• Some subjectivists' claims, while superficially based on accepted physical principles, apply them to circumstances where they are irrelevant. The skin effect, for instance, which relates the efficiency of cables to the frequency transmitted, is often applied to audio frequencies where it is insignificant [4].
• Many of the most outspoken subjectivists, including reviewers, columnists, and "pundits," lack engineering training, technical knowledge, and objective credentials, and most will fully admit a lack of understanding as to the technical merits of what they are analyzing, but nevertheless praise a product's innovation and performance [5] based on perceptual jargon.
• Counterintuitively, subjectivists claim, but cannot substantiate, that wires are directional and therefore give better sonic performance in one direction.
• Subjectivists often claim that home-theater sound is inferior to high-fidelity sound, even though double-blind tests have shown that this is wrong. Many subjectivists believe that the sound from records is superior to the sound from home theater. Subjectivists often look down on home-theater sound even though many subjectivists accept FM radio as high fidelity ^[21][22].
• The majority of audiophiles are men over 35^{[citation needed]}, which is the part of the population with the worst hearing. Men have worse hearing than women,^[23] and hearing worsens irreversibly with age.

Overall, the subjectivists' world is looked upon by objectivists as being a hotbed of gullibility and fraud, its marketing engine driven primarily by either a constant desire for one-upmanship or a more benign desire to tinker with equipment. In particular, the tinkering drive is fed by wild claims for minor parts of the system such as cables. Objectivists, however, are often harshly dismissed by subjectivists as meter men—people who simply refuse to recognize what the subjectivists consider obvious. The debate is rather heated in certain quarters, and even the well-known skeptic James Randi chimed in on the issue ^[24]. Edison is the last name of a famous United States inventor: Thomas Edison Other people known by the name Edison: Charles Edison – son of Thomas Edison and Governor of New Jersey Edison Chen – popular Hong Kong teen idol Edison Carter, character in the television show Max Headroom A number of... It has been suggested that Audio quality measurement be merged into this article or section. ... Room acoustics describes how sound behaves in an enclosed space. ... Sound pressure level (SPL) or sound level Lp is a logarithmic measure of the energy of a particular noise relative to a reference noise source. ... The decibel (dB) is a logarithmic unit of measurement that expresses the magnitude of a physical quantity (usually power) relative to a specified or implied reference level. ... Bob Carver is an American designer of audio equipment based in the Pacific Northwest. ... A transfer function is a mathematical representation of the relation between the input and output of a linear time-invariant system. ... In electronics, solid state circuits are those that do not contain vacuum tubes. ... High Fidelity is also the title of a book by Nick Hornby and a film directed by Stephen Frears, based upon Hornbys book. ... In electronics, a vacuum tube or (outside North America) thermionic valve or just valve, is a device generally used to amplify, switch or otherwise modify, a signal by controlling the movement of electrons in an evacuated space. ... The total harmonic distortion, or THD, of a signal is a measurement of the harmonic distortion present and is defined as the ratio of the sum of the powers of all harmonic components to the power of the fundamental. ... An analog or analogue signal is an allergy continuous in both time and amplitude. ... It has been suggested that Childrens gramophone records be merged into this article or section. ... Edison cylinder phonograph ca. ... Wow is a relatively slow form of flutter (pitch variation) which can affect both gramophone records and audio cassettes. ... Flutter: In electronics, rapid variation of signal parameters, such as amplitude, phase, and frequency. ... Audio feedback (also known as the Larsen effect) is a special kind of feedback which occurs when a loop exists between an audio input (for example, a microphone or guitar pickup) and an audio output (for example, a loudspeaker). ... A rumble is a form of loud white noise which is often created by a random soundwave existing between certain limitation points. ... Signal-to-noise ratio (often abbreviated SNR or S/N) is an electrical engineering concept defined as the ratio of a signal power to the noise power corrupting the signal. ... Dynamic range is a term used frequently in numerous fields to describe the ratio between the smallest and largest possible values of a changeable quantity. ... The total harmonic distortion, or THD, of a signal is a measurement of the harmonic distortion present and is defined as the ratio of the sum of the powers of all harmonic components to the power of the fundamental. ... Frequency response is the measure of any systems response to frequency, but is usually used in connection with electronic amplifiers and similar systems, particularly in relation to audio signals. ... A kilohertz (kHz) is a unit of frequency equal to 1,000 hertz (1,000 cycles per second). ... A Compact Disc or CD is an optical disc used to store digital data, originally developed for storing digital audio. ... The skin effect is the tendency of an alternating electric current (AC) to distribute itself within a conductor so that the current density near the surface of the conductor is greater than that at its core. ... James Randi (born August 7, 1928), stage name The Amazing Randi, is a stage magician and scientific skeptic best known as a debunker of pseudoscience. ...

Subjectivists' criticisms of objectivism in audio

• Subjectivists will rely on demonstrations and comparisons, but believe there are problems in applying double-blind methods to comparisons of audio devices. They believe that a relaxing environment and sufficient time measured in days or weeks is necessary for the discriminating ear to do its work.^[25]
• The introduction of switching apparatus, with either metal connection (mechanical switches) or electronic processing (solid-state switches), may obscure the differences between the two signal sources being tested.

• In general, proponents of the latest technological solutions, such as the CDs at their introduction, use the technology's theoretical or ideal behavior, whereas subjectivists’ criticism centre on actual behavior. Subsequent introduction of newer, improved components often are marketed as lacking the problems existing with the prior generation of equipment, notwithstand this having been described as audibly perfect at the time. For instance:
  • audio filtering Subjectivists who defend analogue formats over digital ones point out that the process of reconverting a bit-stream to an analog waveform requires heavy filtering to remove spurious high-frequency information and such filtering would involve some signal degradation due to loss of information and potentially large amount of phase shift in the upper reaches of the passband. They point out that commonly-used consumer-grade digital-to-analog converters (DACs) exhibit very poor linearity at low levels. Both problems, at first dismissed, were then addressed by such solutions as digital filtering, oversampling, and the use of DACs operating at 20-bit (or higher) resolution. The introduction of the new higher-bandwidth high-resolution music formats is a tacit admission of the reality of this issue. Musician Neil Young, for example, is a harsh critic of the sound of the original CD format but has approved of the sound of the newer SACD format.
  • excessive feedback Subjectivists have long believed that sound quality is degraded by large levels of negative feedback in amplifiers. While this is untrue in the general case, poorly designed feedback systems can produce poor sound quality. Thus, the association of feedback with poor sound quality is likely a reflection of the availability of poorly designed power amplifiers that use feedback incorrectly^[26].
  • capacitor types Subjectivists have long believed the improvement in sound they heard with higher-quality capacitors such as those made with tantalum. Sound quality improved when inferior large electrolytics or paper capacitors were replaced or bypassed with these improved capacitors in the signal path. Subjectivists believe that the capacitors were inferior due to significant inductance caused by their spiral-wound construction which interferes with the passage of the highest audio frequencies.
• Experienced listeners can be relied upon for valid subjective advice on how equipment sounds. British Hi-fi critic, Martin Colloms, writes that "the ability to assess sound quality is not a gift, nor is it the feature of a hyperactive imagination; it is simply a learned skill", which can be acquired by example, education and practice^[27]. In any event, the eventual purchase decision will be made by the end-user, whose "perception is reality" and can be influenced by factors other than the equipment's actual performance.

Many subjectivists admit that, like with many other hobbies, their pastime contains a measure of cultish behavior. They may also admit that there is charlatanry among some vendors. An audio filter is a type of filter used for processing sound signals. ... In telecommunications, passband is the portion of spectrum, between limiting frequencies (or, in the optical regime, limiting wavelengths), that is transmitted with minimum relative loss or maximum relative gain. ... In electronics, a digital-to-analog converter (DAC or D-to-A) is a device for converting a digital (usually binary) code to an analog signal (current, voltage or electric charge). ... An FIR filter In electronics,nirali a digital filter is any electronic filter that works by performing digital mathematical operations on an intermediate form of a signal. ... In signal processing, oversampling is the process of sampling a signal with a sampling frequency significantly higher than twice the bandwidth or highest frequency of the signal being sampled. ... Neil Percival Young[1] OM (born November 12, 1945, Toronto, Ontario) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and film director from Toronto, Ontario and Winnipeg, Manitoba. ... Super Audio CD (SACD) is a read-only optical audio disc format aimed at providing much higher fidelity digital audio reproduction than the compact disc. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Capacitors: SMD ceramic at top left; SMD tantalum at bottom left; through-hole tantalum at top right; through-hole electrolytic at bottom right. ... General Name, Symbol, Number tantalum, Ta, 73 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 5, 6, d Appearance gray blue Standard atomic weight 180. ... Electrolytic capacitors An electrolytic capacitor is a type of capacitor with a larger capacitance per unit volume than other types, making them valuable in relatively high-current and low-frequency electrical circuits. ... Inductance (or electric inductance) is a measure of the amount of magnetic flux produced for a given electric current. ...

In Asia, hi-fi ownership and upgrading is often a hobby in its own right, where the pursuit of sound fidelity seems to be almost completely disassociated from the love of music. These "audiophiles" are solely into the gear. The music is just considered incidental or a means of "testing" equipment. The Chinese refer to this hobby as 發燒 or "fever outbreak."

The gulf between subjectivists and objectivists continues. Audio magazine, one of the few which combined lengthy listening reviews with lengthy technical analysis of laboratory measurements, has ceased publication. Stereophile and The Absolute Sound, however, each combining subjectivism with laboratory measurements, publish monthly. Stereophile is a monthly magazine that focuses on audio equipment, such as loudspeakers and amplifiers, and audio-related news, such as online audio streaming. ... The Absolute Sound is an American monthly magazine which reviews audiophile-oriented sound-reproduction and recording equipment and recordings, and comments on various music-related subjects. ...

See also

• Analog sound vs. digital sound Brief discussion of differences.
• Audio system measurements
• DIY audio Enthusiasts make their own equipment.
• High-end audio High-end and Audiophile gear and internal links to high-end audio companies.
• Valve sound
• Videophile

This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. ... It has been suggested that Audio quality measurement be merged into this article or section. ... DIY Audio means do it yourself audio. ... High-end audio is a term used to describe equipment that is purported by the manufacturers to be the best, regardless of the price. ... Valve sound is the sound either from a valve amplifier or a specially designed transistor amplifier. ... A Videophile (literally, one who loves sight) is one who is concerned with achieving high-quality results in the recording and playback of movies, TV programs,etc. ...

References

1. ^ "audio", Compact Oxford Dictionary, Accessed 2007-05-11
2. ^ "phile", Compact Oxford Dictionary, Accessed 2007-05-11]
3. ^ The Absolute Sound. Retrieved on 2007-01-23.
4. ^ (PDF) "Basic Issues of Equipment Reviewing and Critical Listening: Our Present Stance," The Audio Critic, issue number 16, page 31 (PDF page 25), accessed 2007-05-18.
5. ^ Stereophile. Retrieved on 2007-03-25.
6. ^ "The Ongoing Debate about Amplifier "Sound"", Ian G. Masters, September 1, 2002. 
7. ^ Paste This in Your Hat! - What Every Audiophile Should Know and Never Forget, Peter Aczel, Biline.ca, Accessed 2007-05-11
8. ^ The History of the Edison Disc Phonograph. About.com.
9. ^ The Amp/Speaker interface, Brad Meyer, Sound & Vision Magazine, Accessed 2007-05-11
10. ^ Interview with Sunfire's Bob Carver Gordon Brockhouse, Audio Ideas Guide, Accessed 2007-05-11
11. ^ "The Ongoing Debate about Amplifier "Sound"", Ian G. Masters, September 1, 2002. 
12. ^ "The Decline of Vinyl and Its Timely Death", Ian G. Masters, January 1, 2003. 
13. ^ "Vinyl Hooey", Ian G. Masters, April 15, 2005. 
14. ^ "Hearing Loss", Timothy C. Hain, MD., February 26, 2006. 
15. ^ Bewaring of the Green. Snopes.com (May 15 - June 15, 1990).
16. ^ Audio Specialties X-1/Grand SLAMM loudspeaker system, Martin Colloms, Stereophile Magazine, December, 1994, Accessed 2007-05-11
17. ^ JPS Labs Kaptovator Power Cord, Grant Samuelsen, Soundstage magazine, June 2000
18. ^ "Flights of High-End Audio Fancy", Ian M. Masters, November 1, 2002. 
19. ^ Nordost Valhalla, Nordost
20. ^ "Audio Cables - Science or Religion?", Gene DellaSala, August 30, 2004. 
21. ^ So What is MP3, Anyway? Masters on Audio, Sounstage AV magazine, February 1, 2005
22. ^ Home Theater, Music, or Both?, Robert Harley, Stereophile Magazine, October, 1993
23. ^ Hearing Loss is Common Among Older Adults and Causes May be Different From Race to Race and Between Men and Women. American Geriatric Society.
24. ^ The audio world is aroused, James Randi Educational Foundation
25. ^ The Objective Subjective Review Debate, Martin Colloms, 1991, Retrieved on 2007-05-09 from hificritic.com
26. ^ Martin Colloms (January, 1998). A Future Without Feedback? (PDF). Stereophile. Retrieved on 2007-05-09.
27. ^ Working in the Front Line:An approach to equipment reviewing, Martin Colloms, Stereophile, Vol.14 No.1, January 1991 Retrieved on 2007-05-09 from hificritic.com

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External links

Objectivist

• The Audio Critic - Thirty-year publication, now online only, with in-depth independent verification of manufacturers' claims.
• The Audio Press - Criticism of industry, subjectivist magazines, and reviewers. Written by a subjectivist, but makes many points objectivists agree with.
• Boston Audio Society - Scientific approach to the hobby.
• The Dark Side of the Disc - Black CDs myth.
• Dispelling Popular Audio Myths.
• Lies, Damn Lies, and Cables - The wire controversy.
• Science and Subjectivism in Audio Technically-detailed article by Douglas Self.
• Speaker Wire.
• The Ten Biggest Lies in Audio - (PDF).

Subjectivist

• Audiophilia - Online magazine featuring high-end audio equipment and music reviews.
• The Absolute Sound - Second-oldest high-end magazine.
• The Advanced Audiophile - Free tweak ideas and articles on advanced audio products, forums, tests.
• Avid Listener: Audiophile Bookmarks - Directory of high-end audio manufacturers, distributors, stores, and information.
• Enjoy the Music.com - High-end audio equipment, music reviews, show reports, and information.
• Fedeltà del Suono - Italian magazine dedicated to high fidelity and high-end equipment.
• Positive Feedback Online - Print magazine that merged with audioMUSINGS and morphed into an online forum for the audio arts.
• 6Moons.com - Online magazine.
• Stereophile - Largest, oldest, and most read subjectivist magazine includes online reviews and articles.
• StereoTimes - Equipment reviews and articles of general interest to audiophiles.
• TNT-Audio - Non-profit, Internet high-fidelity review.
• TONEAudio - PDF-downloadable magazine, free subscription, equipment and music reviews.